Ask the Swan Specialist

New Study Disputes Federal and State Wildlife Justification for Killing and Controlling Mute Swans

By:The Regal Swan Foundation
Date: 4 December 2017

International swan and wetland habitat specialists as well as The Regal Swan Foundation, have been disputing for years the "junk science", that federal and state wildlife officials have disseminated throughout the U.S. as justification for killing and controlling Mute Swans.

In 200l, a U.S. district court labeled the justification as "junk science, yet these same wildlife officials ignored this finding and continue to cite and use, non-existent, shoddy and misquoted material.

This past week, a study published by the Hudsonia Environmental group reviewed past and current (2017) swan research to determine if the science being used by federal and state wildlife officials was justified in killing and controlling Mute Swans. In summary, the answer is no and not only disputed the reasoning behind the killings, but stated that the methodology behind many of the studies used was flawed, the program’s population control is not sustainable, both environmentally and financially and the outcome of such a killing program cannot determine the harm that may be caused to the environment in the future.

The Hudsonia report was commissioned by the environmental law firm, Grant and Lyons LLP, Pegasus Foundation, and the Pettus Crowe Foundation. The link for the study appears at the bottom of this article.

The killing of Mute Swans has been one of the largest hoaxes ever perpetuated on the U.S. taxpayer in the name of “conservation” when it promotes the killing of one species, Mute Swans to introduce the larger species, Trumpeter Swans for Trophy Waterfowl hunting purposes. And, yes, the American taxpayer has been funding this financially and environmentally unsustainable program for more than 20 years.

Please share with your legislators, media and social contacts. The billions of dollars wasted by this illegal unconstitutional (violation of the Migratory Bird Act of 1918) and scientifically unjustified program needs to be stopped. As the study stated, there are better ways to improve the environment than killing Mute Swans.